Against the persecution of a tyrant the godly have no remedy but prayer.
John CalvinRead
It would be the height of absurdity to label ignorance tempered by humility "faith"! (Institutio III.2.3)
Interpretation
Faith should not be confused with mere ignorance; true faith requires understanding and humility.
In this quote, John Calvin emphasizes the importance of combining knowledge with humility when it comes to matters of faith. He argues that simply accepting beliefs without understanding, under the guise of faith, is misguided and shows a lack of depth in oneβs spiritual journey. True faith encompasses both a respectful acknowledgment of one's limitations and a striving for deeper understanding.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of critical thinking in religious beliefs.
Against the persecution of a tyrant the godly have no remedy but prayer.
The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.
Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty.
Whomever the Lord has adopted and deemed worthy of His fellowship ought to prepare themselves for a hard, toilsome, and unquiet life, crammed with very many and various kinds of evil.
For as the aged, or those whose sight is defective, when any book, however fair, is set before them, though they perceive that there is something written, are scarcely able to make out two consecutive words, but, when aided by glasses, begin to read distinctly, so Scripture, gathering together the impressions of Deity, which, till then, lay confused in our minds, dissipates the darkness, and shows us the true God clearly.
When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers.
There's an old rule in neuroscience that does not alter with age: use it or lose it. It is a very hopeful principle when applied to critical thought in the reading brain because it implies choice.
Miracles, contrary to popular belief, do not just happen. A miracle is the achievement of the impossible, and it is only when we put aside out greed, anger, pride and prejudice so that our minds are open and ready to accept it, that a miracle can occur.
Character is the ability of a person to see a positive end of things. This is the hope that a man of character has.
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.
We see with the eyes, but we see with the brain as well. And seeing with the brain is often called imagination.
You must not talk about 'ain't and can't' when you speak of this great wonderful world round you, of which the wisest man knows only the very smallest corner, and is, as the great Sir Isaac Newton said, only a child picking up pebbles on the shore of a boundless ocean.
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